"Missing" Doctor Who story restored with animation has finally been added to BBC iPlayer

The animated version of the Doctor Who story The Celestial Toymaker has been added to BBC iPlayer, meaning fans will be able to watch for free for the first time after its release on DVD and Blu-ray in 2023.

The four episodes, titled The Celestial Toyroom, The Hall of Dolls, The Dancing Floor and The Final Test, are available to watch under the Doctor Who season 3 tab on iPlayer, along with many of William Hartnell's other adventures as the First Doctor.

The story features the Doctor and his companions Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) and Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane) pitted against the immortal villain known as the Toymaker, played by Michael Gough.

The Toymaker successfully tears the Doctor apart from his companions to play a twisted game, while Steven and Dodo themselves are also forced into some deadly challenges of their own thanks to his schemes.

The Celestial Toymaker is known as one of Doctor Who's 'lost' stories after the original master tapes of the 1966 story were wiped, with only the fourth episode held in the BBC archives.

The visuals for the animated story were been provided by Shapeshifter Studios, and marked a departure from previous restorations of missing episodes, which have featured a more traditional animation style.

Previously addressing the change, audio engineer Mark Ayres – who has restored and enhanced the original soundtrack – described the technique as "experimental", and explained that it allows for greater fluidity of on-screen movement.

"This, basically, is all done with motion capture, so they've got actors in to act all the parts along to the soundtrack," said Ayres.

"It's all synchronised to the soundtrack – sometimes it doesn't work and I have to tweak the soundtrack where the dialogue hasn't quite synchronised. But it is a new technique, it is a motion capture technique, and it means the characters are far more fluid."

Ayres acknowledged that the "different" animation style might "divide opinion", but added: "[We've] put an awful lot of hard work into it – I'm proud of it and the animators in Australia, they have really worked hard on this."
The Toymaker returned to Doctor Who in 2023 for the 60th anniversary specials, played by Neil Patrick Harris.

Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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